Honor Girl: A Graphic Memoir

by Maggie Thrash

Paperback, 2017

Status

Available

Call number

Graphic Non-fiction

Call number

Graphic Non-fiction

Barcode

3877

Publication

Candlewick (2017), Edition: Reprint, 272 pages

Description

"Maggie Thrash has spent basically every summer of her fifteen-year-old life at the one-hundred-year-old Camp Bellflower for Girls, set deep in the heart of Appalachia. She's from Atlanta, she's never kissed a guy, she's into Backstreet Boys in a really deep way, and her long summer days are full of a pleasant, peaceful nothing . . . until one confounding moment. A split-second of innocent physical contact pulls Maggie into a gut-twisting love for an older, wiser, and most surprising of all (at least to Maggie), female counselor named Erin. But Camp Bellflower is an impossible place for a girl to fall in love with another girl, and Maggie's savant-like proficiency at the camp's rifle range is the only thing keeping her heart from exploding. When it seems as if Erin maybe feels the same way about Maggie, it's too much for both Maggie and Camp Bellflower to handle, let alone to understand" --… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member krau0098

This was a well done autobiography about a young girl’s stay at summer camp and her discovery that she is gay. It was well written and easy to read. I enjoyed it and thought the illustration was okay.

Maggie Thrash writes about her summer at an all girls’ summer camp, her struggles with her

sexuality, and with the other girls there. It’s an interesting look into the life of lesbian pre-teen and into the politics of summer camp.

This book reminded me a bit of This One Summer, it has that same somewhat wandering story quality and is just telling about the day to day life of a girl in the summer. This story is supposed to be non-fiction. Maggie is dealing with the realization that she likes girls, one girl in particular, in a more than friendly way.

The drawing is pretty rough; it’s full color but it done in a very sketchy type of style which isn’t my favorite. You can follow the drawings just fine and see character expression fine; so it’s not hard to follow...it’s just not my favorite type of illustration style.

The story has some closure but is a bit open-ended just like real life. It was a good read and well done.

Overall a decent graphic novel biography about one girl’s summer struggling with her sexuality. I would recommend to those who are interested in “day of the life” type of graphic novels or interested in GLBT graphic novels. I thought it was okay but didn’t enjoy the illustration that much.

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LibraryThing member Brainannex

On the heels of This One Summer, Roller Girl, Raina Telgemeier, and all the other strong young women graphic novel offerings, perhaps the bar was set a bit too high for this one. A young girl at camp finds herself falling for one of the counselors and suffering the odd looks and whispers when folks

start to figure it out.

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LibraryThing member eduscapes

HONOR GIRL: A GRAPHIC MEMOIR by Maggie Thrash tells the story of first love at an all-girl summer camp.

Maggie spends her summers at Camp Bellflower in Kentucky. From music to target shooting, she experiences the typical drama of summer friendships. However, the summer she turns 15, Maggie falls for

a 19-year-old camp counselor. Camp rumors and melodrama don’t diminish her experience of first love.

Using flashbacks to her time in summer camp, the author skillfully weaves a story of self-discovery and young love. She also reminds readers that it’s impossible to revisit the past. Although the book explores a lesbian relationship, Thrash’s portrayal of teen angst and struggles with sexuality are universal themes.

The colorful drawings will appeal to the young adult audience. Librarians will find HONOR GIRL to be a popular addition to the growing number of quality graphic memoirs for young adults.

Published by Candlewick on September 8, 2015.

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LibraryThing member jnwelch

This is a graphic memoir about Maggie Thrash's summer in 2000 as a 15 year old at the preppy Camp Bellflower for Girls in Kentucky. A casual touch awakens romantic yearnings for a slightly older female counselor, Erin, who seems to reciprocate those forbidden (by the camp) feelings. Maggie's

struggles with this important development in her identity, and the fallout it creates, are honestly portrayed in simple, well-done drawings and believable dialog.

There's both heartache and humor, as some girls rally around her while the camp's conventions continually raise obstacles. A head counselor says to Maggie, “It’s a place where girls can be totally innocent and free, maybe for the last time in their lives. Don’t ruin it for everyone.” Love can ruin it for everyone? Say it ain't so.

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LibraryThing member chrisblocker

Honor Girl is a cute story, I guess. It's also painfully juvenile. Supposedly, this is a memoir, but there are things about the story that really seem a reach. For instance (and all this is established early on, so I'm not spoiling much), Maggie suddenly decides she's a lesbian, admits to it with

hardly any hesitation when confronted, and writes a letter to her brother confessing her change in orientation. All this despite being a Southern girl from a conservative background, attending a Christian camp. If this is truly her first experience questioning her sexuality, doesn't it seem likely that she would spend a little more time pondering her choice? Wouldn't she maybe lie? Would she really send a letter home the next day which says outright that she might be a lesbian?

Secondly, this is supposedly a Christian camp. I get it, Christians can be huge hypocrites. But in Honor Girl, all the campers and counselors are about drinking, drugging, cursing, and sexing. Really? Where are the devout girls whose biggest concern is secular pop music? Where is the counselor who friends girls just to save their souls, then moves onto the next heathen? It's clear that Thrash, the author, doesn't particularly care for religion, but by illustrating all the characters in the same simple and dim light, she has essentially made a caricature that does not stand up to pressure. Again, such a tantrum-laced perspective seems juvenile.

And then there are the illustrations. Yes, juvenile. Probably better than I could do, but I'm also not an artist. It seems the intended audience is ten to twelve year olds, but I don't think too many ten to twelve year olds would find this book interesting (and I think there are even fewer parents who'd put this book in their child's hands).

Honor Girl (what's with the title anyway?) — Honor Girl isn't a bad story. In fact, the story at the heart of Honor Girl is relevant and heartfelt. The tale of a young girl questioning her sexuality at a religious camp is great. It's not the story, but the presentation of it that bothers me here. Everything about it feels immature. I struggle to believe that it was so all so clear cut for young Maggie. (Or Erin, for that matter. Who is she? Why does she travel 1400 miles to return to be a counselor at a camp where she doesn't fit in?) Seemingly, Maggie's only pain is the question of young love—does she or doesn't she? It's the one part of the story that nearly all of us can relate to. Aside from a broken heart, this memoir reflects an After School Special more than it does real life.

___
Reading through other reviews after writing my own, I'm surprised at how often humor is mentioned. It's hilarious, other reviewers say. I don't remember laughing or even smiling once, but I am an old curmudgeon. Clearly, I was not the intended audience.

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LibraryThing member csoki637

In spite of the overly simplistic illustrations, the story came to life through the prose. Through small details like the given Harry Potter novel of that year and the inescapable boy-craze at the camp, Thrash managed capture a certain type of pre/teen girl culture of the late '90s that felt very

realistic. The love story at the heart of the book made me uncomfortable because of the age difference, but the narrative was compelling and engaging.

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LibraryThing member lycomayflower

A graphic memoir about the summer Maggie fell for one of her female counselors at summer camp. About friendship, navigating love, dealing with the expectations (and judgments) of others, and realizing who you are/who you want to be. Very good.

LibraryThing member keristars

I don't really like memoirs. I don't like the way they almost always have meandering storylines that mimic real life too much - "here is a story about something that happened to me, and it doesn't have a real ending or beginning" you know? There isn't always a satisfying resolution, either. When I

do like a memoir, it's always by someone who has strong narrative skills and heavily edits their story.

I begin with this because I don't like Honor Girl and the reasons I don't like it are entirely because it is a memoir and suffers from inclusion of all kinds of real life bits and bobs that maybe aren't explained or maybe add context that isn't really important to the central themes and has subplots that don't tie up neatly.

What I do like is that it is a story about a teenager's first(?) experience with actually liking someone else, and they just both happen to be in an all-girls summer camp. It's as much about friendship and navigating all kinds of relationships while trying to figure out this romance thing. I couldn't tell if this is also a story about Maggie realizing for the first time that she likes girls, or if this is just the first girl she liked who returned the feelings, which I think is just an indication that the story may have been better as an essay or novella. (Another point in favor of an essay - it was frustrating that some of the homphobic messages Maggie received were never refuted. As far as I could tell, it was because of the format restrictions as well as her never questioning them at the time.)

For the most part, I do think this is a valuable book. We always need more queer content about girls, and this one shows some of the realities without being melodramatic or heavy-handed with the homophobia. But for all that, I just don't care for the format or style.

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LibraryThing member Salsabrarian

Narrated by cast. Fifteen-year-old Maggie has attended the same summer camp as her mother and grandmother. This year she finds herself attracted to Erin, a 19-year-old counselor. Maggie is confused about where to take her attraction, whether to make the first move, what to say and do. Erin seems

receptive but the age difference and camp rules may be restraining her. Considering "Honor Girl" is originally a graphic novel, the audio serves capably as a substitute with some exceptions: tracking which girl is talking may need reliance on context. Camp activity, background noise, crickets, river sounds, and people laughing and talking socially add to the atmosphere.

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LibraryThing member bookbrig

Funny, bittersweet, and nostalgic, this is a quick read with an interesting art style.

LibraryThing member m_mozeleski

This is a fantastic read. At first I was concerned that it was going to be graphic, but it wasn't. I really liked the art, and I actually really really enjoyed how rifle shootiing was portrayed (accurately!! Thank you, Maggie Thrash!). Overall, I would definitely recommend it to everyone to read.

LibraryThing member readingbeader

I expected more from this graphic novel. It felt rather anti-climatic to me.

LibraryThing member reader1009

teen/adult graphic memoir (nonfiction); girl realizes that she's gay when she develops a crush on a counselor at her Christian girls' summer camp in Appalachia.

LibraryThing member jennybeast

Perfectly expresses the kind of hard-to-be-in-your-skin stages of growing up -- the horrible and wonderful first crushes; the alienation of being other than your campmates while far from home; the weird relationships of all kinds between adolescent girls.

LibraryThing member smorton11

For the sake of honesty, I confess that I believed some stupid things before I started reading Honor Girl.

I started reading Honor Girl under the assumption that my experience reading it would help me understand what it felt like for some of my friends when they first realized they were lesbians or

bisexual. But as I fell deeper and deeper into Maggie's story, I realized that there is no difference between falling in love as a straight person and falling in love as a gay person. Love is love, regardless of who it is with and Maggie's love story is beautiful and innocent and so reminiscent of many other first love stories, requited or unrequited, that absolutely anyone who has felt their heart swell to bursting with a crush can relate.

Later, after I had finished Honor Girl and come to this great conclusion, I asked my coworker, Hadley, why it was that she had picked it out for me, and while I don't remember the answer, I do remember her surprise at the fact that I enjoyed it as much as I did and that I recommend it frequently to teenagers who come into the store looking for a compelling story that they can relate to; one of first love, heartache, and summer camp.

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LibraryThing member theretiredlibrarian

I read this to be sure it didn't violate Missouri HB 2044 (don't get me started...), as it was already in my school library's collection. (I deemed it did not violate the law and placed it back on the shelf). As a 64 year old straight married woman, it didn't appeal much to me, but I can see where

it would meet the needs of LGBTQ teens.

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LibraryThing member thisisstephenbetts

Good memoir about the author discovering her sexuality while at Summer Camp. Simplistic art style which I personally liked a lot. Characters could have been a little more memorable though — I coud tell them apart, but couldn't remember their identities (a bit odd). While sympathetic, I didn't

find the main character very likeable, which was pretty refreshing. Could nitpick on a few minor story-telling issues, but there's lots to enjoy.

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